Keep Your Garden Thriving All Summer Long

Keep Your Garden Thriving All Summer Long

How to keep your garden thriving all summer long! We have compiled a list of 10 elements that can assist in keeping your garden vibrant throughout the summer whilst preparing it for an autumn harvest. Although a number of factors can play a role in altering the look of your garden, this list can assist in keeping you on track whilst getting a rough understanding as to where you can begin. It is important to remember that every garden is different, however, these variables do tend to play a larger role no matter the location of your garden.

1. Mulch Application Start with a 2-inch layer of mulch, this not only provides a protective covering but it enriches the soil’s composition. Any organic material of mulch will work, such as shredded wood, pine straw, or a combination of grass clippings and shredded leaves. 
2. Weed Removal: Eliminating weeds is crucial because they deplete moisture and nutrients essential for your plants. It’s most efficient to uproot weeds when they are young and small, and damp soil facilitates this task even more.
3. Introduce color with summer annuals: Replace fading spring-blooming annuals with heat-loving varieties like angelonia, lantana, ageratum, coleus, pentas, salvia, sweet potato vine, and zinnia. These thrive in warm temperatures and add that burst of color.
4. Cultivate summer blooming bulbs: Enhance your landscape with summer bulbs such as calla lilies, cannas, and dahlias. Plant them after the risk of frost has passed, and watch them grow quickly.
5. Prune Mums and Late-Blooming Perennials: Maintain the upright form of mums, sedums, asters, and other fall-blooming perennials by pinching off the top inch or two of new growth.
6. Eliminate Dwindling flowers: Boost blooming potential by deadheading spent flowers from annuals and perennials. This process prevents seed production, leading to more beautiful blooms. 
7. Be alert to pests & diseases: Protect your plants from cucumber beetles, grasshoppers, Japanese beetles, tomato hornworms, powdery mildew, black spot, and rust.
8. Keep your garden hydrated:Water your garden regularly to ensure its vitality. Most plants require about 1 inch of water per week. Apply water directly to the soil rather than wetting the foliage to prevent disease. 
9. Harvest your vegetables: Continuously harvest your vegetables, even in hot weather, to encourage plant productivity and minimize pest and disease issues. Promptly picking ripe vegetables prevents them from attracting insects and rotting.
10. Establish a vegetable garden for the fall: You can start by planting cool-loving vegetables like broccoli, carrots, kohlrabi, lettuce, and spinach during the summer for a delicious autumn harvest.